Looking to make the jump to iRacing but....

2,782
United States
Washington
GrimGrnninGhost
I have a few questions.

1 - What is a decent to good video card to run triple screens that wont cost me an arm and a leg?

2 - Current PC is the following - AMD Phenom II X4 840T 2.90 GHz (Quad Core) with 6.0 GB Memory. Aside from the video card that I know I will need, how well will iRacing run on this?

3 - I use this PC as a work from home kind of set up with dual monitors running off the video card that came with it. Its all set up on my desk with my racing rig next next to my desk. Is there a way to run three additional monitors mounted to the rig from this same PC (with an additional video card) for iRacing and still be able to use the dual monitors on my desktop when not racing all from the same PC without having to mess with connecting and disconnecting cables? I really cant afford to build a dedicated PC just for iRacing.

Thanks in advance
 
go for the r9 270x or gtx 670 .i was thinking about getting a ps4, but that will never happen....im fully comitted to building my own pc, i can build a "great gaming pc" for about $850 including os ( windows 7 )
i am going go get a amd fx 8 core cpu , and a r9 270x gpu....along with all the other standard stuff.......

as far as your other pc specs, they should be just fine
 
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I have a few questions.

1 - What is a decent to good video card to run triple screens that wont cost me an arm and a leg?

2 - Current PC is the following - AMD Phenom II X4 840T 2.90 GHz (Quad Core) with 6.0 GB Memory. Aside from the video card that I know I will need, how well will iRacing run on this?

3 - I use this PC as a work from home kind of set up with dual monitors running off the video card that came with it. Its all set up on my desk with my racing rig next next to my desk. Is there a way to run three additional monitors mounted to the rig from this same PC (with an additional video card) for iRacing and still be able to use the dual monitors on my desktop when not racing all from the same PC without having to mess with connecting and disconnecting cables? I really cant afford to build a dedicated PC just for iRacing.

Thanks in advance
A video card,a nd a wheel, don't forget the wheel! The real question is, how much are you looking to spend? There are a number of different routes you can go. a GTX460 can run trips all by itself, I have a GTX275 that runs iRacing just fine, I'll be adding a second card so I can run trips. They cost between 65 and 125 dollars a piece on amazon. However, if you have some coin you can throw at it, Getting Two GTX 700 series cars and SLI them together will keep you going for a very long time. Even getting just one would probably be enough to run iRacing on trips twice over. iRacing is really not to intensive on a video card though, at least not in my experience. I really think a GTX 275 could run that game on trips no problem.
One thing to note, do some good research on the card, the steps and requirements for trips can be quite different for each. Take the GTX 275 for example, you have to use two cards, they both have to be GTX 275 and they need to be linked via the SLI cable. ATI cards on the other hand can run trips off one card, sp long as it has two ports. Two have to be active digital displays, HDMI and DVI, an one can be Passive, or something like VGA. Do some research once you have decided on a card on what exactly you will need.
For trips to work with iRacing, two things that you need to consider. First, all three monitors need to display at the same resolution. meaning they all must be something like 1920x1080. They don't need to be the same size, just be able to display the same resolution.
The second thing to consider, and this important for your third question, is that you will only be able to run the game in trips off of either the one card, or two that are linked. So, if you are currently running off of an integrated VC, you won't be able to get say, a GTX, which can only use two monitors by itself, and run trips using the GTX and the integrated VC. Now, to this extent, I recommend a newer ATI/AMD video card. This way, you can run your trips off of the ATI card, and use the other card to display your other two monitors.
If it sounds confusing, its not. Mainly there are 2 brands of cards out there. GeForce and ATI/AMD. everything is just a rebranded version of one of those two brands. Lots of models within the scope of those two brands, so be sure to research. And in case it doesn't seem be be stressed enough, DO RESEARCH! DOnt be this guy...
 
Thanks for the info. As for a wheel, I do have that covered. Its just the video card I'm looking at now. Thanks again
 
No problem man, got anymore questions just post em up, we will get you squared away.
 
Have you already purchased an iRacing account? I play the econmics game with mine. "Honey, we are paying a month fee for this, I need to be sure we get our moneys worth..." Sometimes it works. Otherwise, buy her something nice. Or wait till she buys something for herself, and do the same.
 
Any advice on how to get the money from my wife? :boggled:

Pay both your salaries into the joint account, agree an amount which gets paid into your own accounts each month, for your own spending, with the agreement that you can spend yours on what you like, and she can spend hers on what she likes.....

I've been married for 15 years, and we never argue over money.

Hope that helps :)
 
Any advice on how to get the money from my wife? :boggled:

6 or 7 years ago I told my wife I was prepared to spend $30,000.00 on a racing rig, told her I wasn't going to skimp on anything, triple 55" HDTV's, custom Zalem Frame, wheels, pedals, button boxes, SimVibe and all the trimmings. Updated all the PC parts annually.

She told me it was either her or the rig!!! Last I heard she's got a one room apartment and is doing rather fine. :)
 
Secret stash, well thats how my rig gets funded. When she asks how much bits and pieces are I never tell her the real cost! Bonus with PC parts is that she cant see them so never knows whats changed!

Love @left888 post, however im too soft to go that far!

Dont know if your interested, I got a GTX650 up for sale in Trading section thats hardly used and I had iracing running triples for a while albeit not at highest settings but did the job for a while. Stock ASUS card about 6 months old. Drop me a PM if your interested.
 
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